Tom Tate and his Baker’s pods collapse GC democracy

Despite Gold Coast City Council voting twice to reject a development proposal approved by its own administration, Gold Coast Council CEO Tim Baker He unilaterally overturned this democratic decision, giving Mayor Tom Tate a direct advantage.

CEO Baker was personally appointed by Tate after the Mayor’s previously hand-picked CEO, David Edwards, was forced to resign under a cloud of corruption after just six weeks.

independently A.Baker played a key role in Tate’s purchase of the last part of the Surfers Paradise Bowls Club, which it sold to Chinese developers, The Australian has revealed.A. He also announced that the Mayor would receive a personal profit of $33 million gross or $25 million net.

In December 2023, CEO Tim Baker used the authority given to him to push through a development proposal that was not only twice rejected by elected Councillors, but should never have been put before them. Tate’s capsule development never received regulatory approval from other owners at Surfers Plaza Resort.

Independent A.The Australian is not alleging that Gold Coast CEO Tim Baker was corrupt or deliberately gave an advantage to Mayor Tom Tate; because it is possible that both he and the Council management he oversees are incompetent or negligent.

Admittedly, adherence to widely accepted democratic standards has been completely neglected under both the Mayor and his hand-picked bureaucrats. Independent A.Australia, as many have noted, is the Queensland anti-corruption authority, CCCLaunch an investigation into the activities of Tate, Baker and Gold Coast Council as soon as possible.

Independent A.Australia will provide a full dossier of our findings to such an organisation, but for this particular matter we refer to the attached article below for the full and damning allegations against Mayor Tate, his CEO and his underdog management.

This will reveal details of the following along with all sources and documentation:

1. Mayor Tom Tate’s application for the pod development was never properly approved by the Surfers Plaza Resort and should never have been brought before the Council.
2. Gold Coast Council Executive has challenged its own City Plan by recommending the Mayor’s development to Council, which Council has already voted to reject twice.
3. Council CEO Tim Baker defied Council’s twice-voted decisions by unilaterally subverting democratic will and personally approving the Mayor’s plan.
4. The Mayor, CEO and management have never provided feedback to Council on how the development was approved and have refused to answer any questions on this matter or provide any explanation to this publication.

Democracy appears to be broken on the Gold Coast. Bureaucrats personally appointed by the Tate now appear willing and able to overturn the will of the people’s representatives with such impunity that they do not even report to the Council to explain why they are doing so.

Mayor Tate announced his candidacy for a fifth term. This could be the death knell for democracy and justice in Australia’s sixth largest city. independently A.Australia has forensically disclosed it in nearly 20 detailed investigative stories over almost a decade; all of this is available for free in “Tate Town” to this day, the Mayor is corrupt.

Even more disturbing, IA. The Queensland and NSW State Police have presented their categorical evidence to almost every relevant authority with any jurisdiction over this matter, including the AFP, ATO, ASIC, APRA, CCC and even the bankruptcy trustees. But we were summarily ignored. This is worrying. Fitzgerald Inquiry Much of this rot took root in the dark days John Bjelke-PetersenOr so we thought. Maybe it never actually disappeared. It seems so.

We recommend reading the latest story and then reading all previous Tate Town investigative articles. From now on, we encourage you to be righteously outraged and contact your local, State, and/or Federal elected representatives to demand action.

And don’t vote for Tom Tate next year.

READ THE FULL REPORT OF THIS INVESTIGATION HERE.

Follow IA founder Dave Donovan on X/Twitter @davrosz and Bluesky @davrosz.bsky.socialIndependent Australia on Bluesky @independentaus.bsky.socialX/Twitter @independentaus and Facebook HERE.

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